Electric dust-collector



(No M'od'el.)

R. E. WARDHAUGH. ELBGTRIC DUST COLLECTOR.

NCL-470,608. Patented Mar. 8, 1892.

/. y r I 'NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

` RICHARD E. WARDI-IAUGH, OF JACKSONVILLE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OFONE-HALF TO WILLIAM W. ALLIS, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

l ELECTRIC DUST-COLLECTOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent NO. 470,608, dated March 8,A1892.-`

Application filed October 2,1889. Serial No. 325,765. (No model.) i

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, RICHARD E. WARD HAUGH, a citizen ofthe UnitedStates, residing at Jacksonville, in the county of` Morgan and State ofIllinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in ElectricDust-Collectors, of which the followingis a specification.

' My invention relates to dust-collectors, and more especially to suchas are employed for the collection of. the fine floating dust incidentto the manufacture of our.

The invention consists, essentially, in cornbining with the body of thecollecting-cham ber a coil of insulated wire and means for producing andcausing a current of electricity to lflow through said coil, and therebyto electrit'y the collecting body or chamber and cause the iioatingparticles to adhere to its surface.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of adust-collector embodying my improvements; Fig. 2, asectional View of thesame.

In the drawings I have represented a centrifugal dust-collector, or onein which the dust-laden air is carried under pressure into a circularchamber A in a direction tangential to the outer wall thereof, wherebythe dustladen air is caused to circulate around in said chamber and toform a vortex, the particles of dust and other solid matter being thrownoutward against the walls of the chamber by centrifugal force andgliding down said walls to an outlet and discharging at the lower end ofthe collecting-chamber when, as in the present case, said outlet isplaced at the lower end. The purified air escapes centrally from thechamber through a tubular guard or chimney a, which is made of such sizeas to receive the air and permit it to escape with comparatively littlepressure, if any. A central shaft b, carried in suitable bearings orsupports, passes axially through the chamber and is furnished at asuitable point with a wind-wheel c, the blades of which may be set withtheir faces in line with the axis of the shaft or oblique thereto, aspreferred, the whirling motion of the air in escaping being sufficientto cause the rotation of the wheel whether `the blades be arrangedobliquely or not. Secured upon the shaft are brushes d, one arranged tosweep the wall of the main collecting-chamber to remove particles ofmatteradheringthereto and another arranged in the outlet-pipe or chimneyand serving to remove any particles of dust or iioating matter that maybe lodged therein. Also carried by said shaft just below theoutlet-opening of the discharge-opening or dust-outlet of thecollecting-chamber is a saucer-shaped disk e, uponV which the collecteddust is deposited, and from which it is discharged by centrifugalaction, the concave or saucer shape of the disk causing the retention ofa quantity of dust upon it to elfectually prevent the inflow of airthrough the dust-discharge opening.

The features of construction thus far set forth, except thesaucer-shaped disk, are not claimed in this application, butare embracedin an earlier application filed in my name, and have been used by mefora considerable time. A finger or scraper f, adj ustably secured toshell A and extendinginto the depressed portion of disk e, aids indischarging its contents.

The body- A of the collecting-chamber is preferably made of sheet-iron,thoughit may be made of steel, galvanized iron, or other suitable metalor material.

B indicates a coil of insulated wire wound about the body A of thecollecting-chamber,

preferably on its exterior, and C indicates a battery or other source ofelectricity, such as a dynamo-electric generator, a storage-battery, orthe like, with the two poles of which the opposite ends of the coil Bare connected,

so that a constant current of electricity may How through the coils solong as the circuit is complete. For convenience a switch orcircuit-breaker E is provided, whereby the circuit may be at anytimeinterrupted, if desirable. The passage of the current through the coilof wire electrilies the body which it surrounds and produces anelectrical atmosphere within the chamber, causing the line floatingparticles to adhere to its surface with considerable tenacity, practicaluse of the machine showing a rapid precipitation of the dust upon theinner surface of the chamber.

While I have represented in the drawings a well-known form ofdust-collector and have shown anddescribedineans for producing thecentrifugal action of the air-current, I do not mean to restrict myselfin any manner to this or any other described form of collectingchamloernor to the application of centrifugal force to effect thc separation ofthe dust from the air. The air-current may simply flow contin uouslyeitherin a straight, spiral, zigzag, or other path through a chamberelectrified in substantially the Way above set forth. Obviously, too,the direction of running the Wire, its location, Whether outside orinside of the chamber, the number of coils, and like matters of detailmay be varied at will.

The invention consists, broadly, in the combination, with acollecting-chamber, of an electric conductor and means for producing acurrent of electricity therethrough in such manner as to cause theelectrication'of the chamber or the production of an electrifiedatmosphere therein, which shall cause the precipitation of the particlesof dust.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- 1. In combinationwith a dust-collecting chamber, an electric conductor and means forproducinga current of electricitythrough said conductor, substantiallyas set forth.

2. In combination with the body or chamber of a dust-collectingapparatus, an insulated coii encircling said chamber and an electricgenerator having its positive and negative elements respectivelyconnected with op; posite ends of the coil.

8. The herein-described dustcollector, consisting of the collectingchamber provided With tangential inlet for the air, an outlet for thedust at one end, a central tubular outlet for the purified air attheother end, a central shaft provided With a fan and brushes forsweeping the interior of the chamber, a disk applied to said shaft andserving to prevent the entrance

